PROJECT SUMMARY ? VDDRC ENRICHMENT The Enrichment Program provides critical mechanisms to support the overall goals of the VDDRC via the following Specific Aims: 1) To foster the scientific and career development of members; 2) To expand research tools used by VDDRC members to pursue studies in the realm of digestive disease; and 3) To disseminate knowledge gained from the presence of the VDDRC. To achieve these goals, the VDDRC has incorporated several elements into the Enrichment component: A) the Research Seminar Series; B) the new Academy of Investigators; C) the Enrichment Training (mini-sabbatical) Program; and D) the Annual Retreat. To catalyze member scientific development and interactions, the VDDRC Research Seminar Series was initiated in 2002. This series is a vehicle for prominent local, national, and international investigators to present lectures related to topics within the VDDRC Research Domains. Institutional and endowed support over the last funding period ($94,500) sponsored complementary research symposia and lectures within the GI Division targeting the research interests of VDDRC members. To train the next generation of GI researchers, we have now created the VDDRC Academy of Investigators, a program in which junior investigators perform innovative research with VDDRC support, and acquire important career development tools. This new component is directed by Dr. Alyssa Hasty, a former VDDRC P & F recipient and Young Investigator Awardee, and will now receive $220,000 from VUMC over the next 5 years. To provide members with the opportunity to expand their research capabilities, the VDDRC Enrichment Training (mini-sabbatical) Program supports members' leaves to work in another laboratory for either the acquisition of new techniques or to establish a new model related to digestive disease research. This program, which is open to all VDDRC members, also permits reverse visits for investigators to come to Vanderbilt to work in a lab or with a research group on developing digestive disease-related technologies or models. The annual VDDRC retreat format is designed to disseminate research findings of our members and includes a symposium featuring internal speakers and current P & F recipients, a keynote speaker, and a poster session (ePosters and standard posters), which provides robust interactions among senior investigators, junior faculty, and trainees. Scholarships for VDDRC Cores are awarded to the best posters as judged by Program leaders.